I think he could make the transition. One of our OLB's almost exclusively rushes the passer every play anyways, so his time in coverage could be limited in that regard. He is a physical specimen and a great athlete so I think he could make the transition. I do agree that the price may be too high, but if we give up one of the 2nds, or maybe even the first, that is a need we would probably have drafted anyways, so why not take Peppers?

It would probably cost us our 1st rder but I'd be okay with that.
He's freakishly athletic. He wants to go 3-4. Larry English would be trying to make the same transition.
I say I rather take the chance of Peppers over anyone we draft.

All talk aside... as much as I'd like to see Peppers in a Pats uniform
there's no way we land him. I just can't see it happening.

With one big weekend trade, the New England Patriots went from being a team struggling to fit under the salary cap to one that has some space to play with. The Matt Cassel trade returned a second-round draft pick, but it also may have set the Pats up to bring in an even bigger prize this offseason, Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers.
The Boston Herald speculates that in clearing Cassel's monster salary off of their roster, the Patriots - who may be the "mystery AFC team" that was amongst the four teams listed by Peppers as acceptable destinations in a trade - will now make a strong move to inject some youth into their defensive scheme with perennial Pro Bowler Peppers.

While the North Carolina alum will likely draw a huge compensation package in return, Peppers would be a dominant component of the Patriots' 3-4 scheme, and a player of his caliber is not often available. Peppers finished 2008 with 51 tackles and 14.5 sacks, the latter of which was good for a tie for fifth in the NFL.

Any rumors on Dre Bly? I can't even find info on which teams he's talking to after being cut by Denver. He seems like the type of old vet BB tends to favor. He could be a nice stop gap/insurance policy for a year or two while we develop the young CBs.

Eh. It might be a stupid reason, but Peppers is 6'7 280+. There hasn't been a guy like that playing OLB in a 3-4 yet. I'll buy it when I see it.

Peppers is a different breed though, he is a freak in the purest form. His height does scare me a little but he is only one inch taller than McGinnest and a lot more athletic.

The height issue scares a lot of 3-4 teams because they think they will be too stiff to drop back and coverage and will not be able to get under the OT's pads. Peppers has showed he can drop back into coverage and make plays in a 4-3, I think he would be super in coverage when he was dropped back. As far as getting under the pads, Peppers has freakishly long arms that would help him immensely coming at an OT. Plus Pep is ridiculously quick off the line. Ordinarily, I would not want a guy over 6-6 in our defense (unless they are a DE like Seymour) but Peppers is in his own class when it comes to ability matched only by Mario Williams in my opinion. Mathias Kiwanuka has a ton of 3-4 potential as a taller DE/OLB, but other than that I don't see too many guys who can do it.

He has looked EXCELLENT in coverage when he's been asked to drop back on zone blitzes, but I question how fluid he'll be on a consistent basis. Dropping back once or twice and and beating your man to the spot and using your height is one thing. Moving laterally on 20+ plays a game is another thing entirely. He's far and away one of the best athletes in the game right now and is the original freak of nature defensive end, but he's such an idyllic defensive end that he might not make such a good fit at OLB. Once again, could be the best move ever, but I'll believe Peppers can play 3-4 OLB when I see it.

Come on guys. Comments like "i'd take him for #23 or one of our seconds", are why other teams fans hate us. It would take atleast our first, one of the seconds and something else to get him. Don't get me wrong, I would do it. But if anyone truly thinks he can be had on the cheap, guess again.

It's a statement of value. If he cost a 1st & 2nd or more I would rather not see it happen. I'm not saying Peppers is not worth more than that, I'm saying I don't want the pats to give up more than that in a trade. A draftee @23 should suffice, so why give up a potential S, CB or whatever the 2nd round pick would yield?

The is very similar to what Chiefs fans said about Cassel. I don't hate any of them for saying so, why should it be any different?

People hate the Patriots organization b/c they win. All the other stuff is just fuel for the fire and "evidence" that supports their theories.

Come on guys. Comments like "i'd take him for #23 or one of our seconds", are why other teams fans hate us. It would take atleast our first, one of the seconds and something else to get him. Don't get me wrong, I would do it. But if anyone truly thinks he can be had on the cheap, guess again.

It's not really possible to say what it would take to get him.

If NC can't keep him and no one else wants to pay his salary, then he may be very cheap. NE didn't want to keep Cassel, so he went for a 2nd instead of much more. NC doesn't want to keep Peppers as he costs them 17M. They may pay someone to take him off their hands if it gets bad enough for them.

I like the idea of Peppers, but I don't see it happening, and I'd rather have other possibilities anyway... Getting healthy, young, slightly more experienced OLB's back is going to do wonders for the pass rush on its own...

I really would rather see them just get Wilfork, Mankins, and Seymour extended on top of a couple key, low-cost veteran pick-ups this off-season...
________The Legend Condominium

I doubt Pep gets here, and agree that Wilfork & Mankins are top priority. But if no big free agent is brought in the Pats' F.O. will look stupid. Why rush the Cassel deal if there was no intention of using some of the newly cleared cap space? There's certainly no need to do that immediately in order to rework current deals.

OMFG I don't think I could handle the resulting storm of anti-Patriot fanboi-ism!!

Ideally I would prefer not to take receiver in FA but take a guy in the draft who goes into a perfect situation to develop and will eventually be able to take over from Moss. A veteran receiver would probably stop us taking a receiver high this year and with such good depth until the mid 2nd I say we cash in with someone like Harvin who will fall due to people like Crabtree, Maclin and DHB's 40.
I would much rather use the extra cap in picking up a CB or safety or even resigning Mankins and Wilfork.